Move part of attempt to chip away at BlackBerry's dominance

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NEW YORK — The rush to chip away at BlackBerry's dominance in mobile business e-mail intensifies further this week with Sprint Corp. introducing rival options from Good Technology Inc. and Seven Networks Inc.

Good, which last month signed on Cingular Wireless to sell its service, also said Monday it is adapting its software to work with corporate e-mail systems based on IBM Lotus Notes and Domino in addition to Microsoft Exchange.

Good and Seven also are adding a new wrinkle to the market, making their services compatible with certain cell phones for those users who would rather not carry slightly larger handheld computers. The thinking is that rather than thumb-typing e-mail responses on a full-blown keyboard, many people may simply want the ability to read and triage incoming messages.

These latest initiatives add to a drum beat of announcements targeting a fast-growing market pioneered and dominated by the BlackBerry device and e-mail service from Research In Motion Ltd.

Most conspicuous of these would-be "BlackBerry killers" was a software upgrade by Microsoft Corp. to provide better real-time e-mail access between corporate servers running on Microsoft Exchange and mobile devices based on the Pocket PC and Smartphone versions of Windows Mobile. (MSNBC is a Microsoft-NBC joint venture.)

All five major U.S. cell phone carriers sell BlackBerry as a lead product for business users.

Besides introducing new options such as GoodLink, carriers are also beefing up their own less-robust brands of e-mail service, which are powered by private label software from companies such as Seven, Visto Corp. and Intellisync Corp. Though some experts contend these services are less secure, many smaller businesses can't afford to equip the networks and employees with pricier software such as Exchange and BlackBerry.

The Good announcement with Sprint is similar to the deal with Cingular. Both arrangements eliminate the separate monthly charge for GoodLink on top of the wireless carrier's monthly fee of $40 or $45 per device for unlimited wireless data usage. There is also a one-time account fee of $1,500 plus a one-time set up fee of $99 for each individual user.

Good is also expanding the lineup of devices it supports, previously limited to Pocket PCs and PalmOne Inc.'s Treo, to include two cell phones based on the Windows Mobile platform: AudioVox Corp.'s SMT5600 and Motorola Corp.'s MPx220. In a similar vein, the Seven announcement with Sprint extends the availability of its Java-based service, sold as Sprint PCS Business Connection, to three cell phones made by Sanyo: the MM-5600, the MM-7400 and MM-8300.

The FTC reminded us Monday what many a parent knows all too well: Not all kids' apps are safe, especially where privacy is concerned. So, as a parent of two small children in a house full of tablets, what do I do to keep them safe? Here are my guidelines.